After Surviving Wet Tail?

[Little One]

Hello! I am new to hamsters, though I've owned two little mice in the past and am therefore not all that new to rodents in general. I also have a five year old house rabbit who is disgustingly spoiled and well cared for even though she's my first rabbit (the vet told me she never would have guessed she was five!).

Without going into the whole long "I caved when I saw her and bought a hamster from Petco and then had a horrible experience" story, suffice it to say that after having to bring her back after a few days of owning her with early signs of wet tail (good thing I am neurotic, bad thing I brought her back to Petco because they didn't seem to care much) I did finally get her back having been treated and having survived miraculously. I actually was very angry at first because I thought they gave me a different hamster, but they might not have been lying -- she was a darker color (she was initially quite blonde) than when I brought her in and the skin on her ears wasn't that tinge of gray it had been and her eyes even looked like they had a slight red tint -- though she did behave as if she recognized her cage and even me and was now completely fine with being picked up. It's been about a week and a half and she's becoming blonder, her ears have a tiny tinge of gray again and her eyes look blacker and less glassy, so I actually do think she is the same hamster. Unless it's impossible for such changes when they are young and sick?

My husband (who thought I was crazy when I noticed she was sick and then when I brought her home feeling like she wasn't the same hamster) is convinced she's the same and now I am, too, but!! She's awfully sleepy... I know that she is awake a bit (because I've woken at least once a day once it's past 8 p.m.) and I see that she does move all the food and bedding around, but I hardly catch her awake - and we have both been up at 4 or 5 in the morning and we have each only caught her awake (not on her wheel or anything) once unless she's been woken and let out onto my desk. She likes her tummy to be rubbed when she's curled up and we poke a finger in and will hug your finger. But why is she sleeping so much?? Shouldn't hamsters be awake more and for longer than a few minutes here and there? I know they can wake up sometimes during the day to munch and maybe drink but I never see her particularly active. She does make herself a fort and move bedding around, but once she's decided on a spot, that's the spot and she only redoes things a bit to fall back to sleep. Is this all just because she's survived the wet tail? She is really sweet and doesn't mind being held or petted (though if she's on my desk checking out the little puzzle gym thing I got her she can't be bothered!). She's going to the bathroom, not in her little litterbox yet but I'm not expecting her to be fast at it (my bunny was super fast, I doubt my karma is THAT great!), and I do catch her drinking (and then right back to sleeping).

I can find lots of information about how wet tail kills and all the signs and symptoms, but I can't find much of anything relevant to how a hamster should behave after wet tail and what kind of care she will require. In lieu of finding helpful info in the past few days, I've taken to waking her at least once a day and having her out on my desk and interacting with her for at least 40 minutes to an hour and I found some vitamin drops to put in her water. I've also found a decent looking "lab block" to mix with the Hazel Hamster I have been feeding her because the store told me they were just feeding her lab blocks (which is funny because when I first got her they seemed to have a few seeds in her bowl and never bothered to tell me what they fed their hamsters). I bought that Mazuri brand and she was elated to take that food from me. She ignores the black block type parts of the Hazel Hamster and will eat and stash everything else. I hear hammies are picky so I'm not sure of my strategy yet for that. My first priority is just seeing if anyone knows what I should/could be doing to make her a happy and healthy hamster.

Also, on a lighter note, I had originally planned on naming her Yazhi (which I found online - a Navajo female name meaning "Little One" which had seemed fitting) but since I've gotten her back I didn't feel like that fit. My husband says he's going to just call her whatever and is the worst for input (he has named a cat "Kitty") but I kind of like the name Sunshine. Anybody have any ideas for this little sweetie? ^_^ (I think I've attached two pictures?)

Thanks a ton!!!

[KatiePillow]

I've heard the mazuri brand is a good lab block..so she should be getting the fibre she needs from there, so I wouldn't worry too much about her skipping out the alfalfa pellets (my little boy emptied everything out of his bowl..except the alfalfa pellets!)
You seem to be doing a good job at making her happy
One of my hamsters seems to stay in her house a lot, and just wander around/tunnel around occasionally, so it could be that she's awake..but just staying in bed, also..my girl runs into her house as soon as you turn on the light, so it could be that yours is doing that even..

As for names..I'm awful.. but sunshine is cute, or you could try something food related such as cupcake, or mocha
I hope she continues to recover from her illness, and good on you for spotting it..now I'll let somebody who is more experienced help

[Iluvhamsters]

Can't help with the wet tail but I think Sunshine is a lovely name

[souffle]

Welcome to the forum.
Your lovely hammy looks to be a long haired mink. In some lights the dark red eyes of these hammies can look black but they are actually red. As they mature they do develop a browny pigment on the ears so it seems she may just now be getting this and as the coat grows in she may also have appeared to change colour.
She does look like quite a young hamster to me and the 'wet tail' may have been due to the stress of moving to a new home and may not have been true wet tail but stress induced diaorrhoea which is nasty but more recoverable that true wet tail. It sounds as if the shop did care for her well but you need to keep a close eye on her as if they simply dosed her up with 'dry tail' the problem may recur. I hope not though.
She is still a baby and as such needs a lot of sleep. She has likely got into a late routine in the quiet of the store. I think maybe 40 minutes is rather too long to have her out and it may be best to try several short sessions rather than one long.
Hammies who have had wet tail can suffer long term after effects depending on how badly damaged the bowel was but the infection. They sometimes do not absorb food well and do not grow as well as normal. They can be prone to recurrence of diarrhoea at the slightest change in food or routine so try and maintain a very even keel with her. I would not change food or use any veggies just now. The diet sounds fine and I would continue with the mix of Hazel and the Mazuri pellets allowing her to eat what she wants.
A useful addition would be a probiotic for small animals such as Avipro or ProC which can be added to water or sprinkled on the food. This will keep her bowel healthy.
Long haired hamsters seem to more susceptable to wet tail for some reason I have heard.
At the first sign of anything amiss make sure you see a vet as early antibiotic treatment can stop the wet tail getting bad.
I think Sunshine or even Sunny is a lovely name and look forward to hearing lots more about her.

[Little One]

Thanks everyone for such quick replies!
It was definitely wet tail - she had all the hunching over, not eating, drinking, and was starting to have some icky ooze on her when I brought her back. I did get to see the "wellness room" (which horrified me... I saw bugs in one of the other tanks with sick hamsters) and she was being given baytril, though I'm not sure how consistent they were since they "misplaced" her paperwork when I had shown up unexpectedly and had to take my name down again. There were vet papers in there with all the sick hammies, so she did definitely see the vet.
I will look for that probiotic, that's a good idea. She's definitely been pooping correctly, no more diarrhea at all and I catch her drinking and see she's drinking what I think is a decent amount. (Incidentally, how much is a correct amount? It looks like in about 36-48 hours she's had about an ounce of water, give or take what dribbles out of the bottle. I would normally change every day but I'm trying to gauge how much she's drinking and that's impossible if I change it in under 24 hours cause it looks like nothing!)

I guess if nobody else thinks she may still be in danger, then I'll just let her sleep when she wants. I can split that time out into shorter sessions, for sure. She's been checking out the desk and then curling up in her puzzle gym (by the way, these puzzle gyms from super pet are probably the best thing they have for any small animal. I'm almost 27 years old and I get a huge thrill out of creating spaces for her to explore!) for at least ten minutes of that time out. I like that she feels at least some trust with me that she can fall asleep within inches of me, I've been taking that as a good sign.
Thank you so much for pointing out that you think she's a long haired mink! I was told she was a long haired teddy bear hamster and since I don't know any better, I took that as the most "breed" specific information I'd ever need for her. But you're totally right, I looked up "long haired mink" and she looks like those hamsters. I figured being sick, medicine, and about ten days could indeed account for changes, though I'd been very frustrated about it, feeling as though it's still possible that Petco would switch hamsters on a grown up and feeling highly disgusted. But every day she's with me again, she changes back a little bit - lighter coat again (not quite as blonde, but lighter), her ears have that little gray tint to them again, and if you think she's a mink, then she's supposed to have that reddish tint to them depending on how you look at her (light, straight on, etc.). I had a mouse with red eyes and a mouse with black eyes and I guess I didn't think rodents could have eyes that looked both ways! I'm very excited that I'm not crazy - some changes did seem to happen - but there's a reason! My husband will never hear the end of it. ^_^

One last question would be when to expand her cage? My husband and I went to Petco to get her after I had seen her on a rabbit hay mission that had me at Petco when I'd normally be at Petsmart (they were out!!) because I missed having a buddy on my desk and it was Christmastime so she actually turned out to be my present from my husband (clearly he had an opportunity to get me something without having to think it up!). We didn't want to spend a ton of money at Petco and there was a Super Pet "My First Home" on sale for $20 ("with everything you need!" all extras of which I immediately replaced lol). It's really small, but I had figured that I would upgrade within the next few weeks slowly so she didn't get too stressed out and it would give us time to perhaps make a bin cage for her. I think we'd still like to go that route (the US has disgustingly expensive tiny cages!) and I think we've figured out how we'd cut out bars and make tunnels to another cage, but *when* should I add this new stress for her? I want to give her some time even though this is pretty small. I mean, she *IS* sleeping a lot anyway right now so I don't think she's miserable in the small space, plus with the puzzle gym she now has a huge castle in there with three extra levels.

Well, thank you all again for such great and fast replies! This is a very knowledgeable community and I'm very excited to be a part of it. ^_^

[souffle]

I would not move her just now. She needs to be fully settled, well grown and very tame before moving. She is little just now anyway and this cage will be fine for now as long as her wheel is big enough and her back is not bent when running. A Wodent wheel is a good choice (Junior size) Don't worry too much about tunnels as you can take a step back with these if she hides in them or sleeps in there as they get all hot and steamy and can give them chest infections and skin problems which would not be a good thing for your little one. Probably around 3-4 months would be a good age to move up to a bigger cage and a large flat open cage like a zoozone is better than a small modular cage. Have a look in the cage review section and the show us your cage threads for ideas. Cages are not so great in the USA but making a bin cage might be a good idea for you?

[Little One]

I have a Silent Spinner wheel for her and I think it was the regular size, but it's definitely a good size for her when she gets on it her back is not bent. It's far larger than the wheel I used to have for my mice so I think it's correct sizing for her. I'm going to have to do a bin cage I think because I can't spend a lot of money on having a cage shipped from Europe. I'd rather keep that extra cash as money for a vet if she needs one again soon, so I don't mind making a cage myself for her. As for tubes, I was thinking just enough to make a connection. Maybe I can figure out making vented tubes, too... or maybe that one I can convince my husband to do!

Thanks again for all the advice and input! I'll post a cage in the cage thread when I've made it and when she's living in it (it looks like I have a while before she's old enough). I'm actually looking forward to trying my hand at hamster engineering!

[Hope]

Hi and Welcome

Sorry to hear that little Subnshine has not had the best start, but now she is settle with you I am sure that things will start looking up for her! Souffle has given you some great advise there, looking forward to seeing your bespoke cage for her!